The Civil Rights Movement

During Martin Luther King Jr. Speech, his vision was to put an end to the end racial discrimination and segregation in the United States. The goal of his speech was the achievement of racial equality for the African Americans. Also, his vision was to ensure that the USA becomes a land where no discrimination, prejudice, and bias is prompted. Hence, in order to make his vision prosper he became involved in the major “civil rights movement” in Montgomery, Alabama [ CITATION Bri192 l 1033 ]. According to our textbook, “the speech marked the high point of the civil rights movement and established the legitimacy of its goals (Openstax, 2019).” Therefore, in this paper I will explain if the civil rights movement changed the nation, the effect of the civil rights acts on minority groups, the tactics and strategies that civil rights activists used and if it applies to today's racial ethnic conflicts, if the ideas of the 1960s have any relevance today, and how the civil rights movement would impact diversity in America today. The Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s addressed three areas of discrimination which involved voting rights, education, and social segregation. The movement changed the nation by allowing women and those of different color the right to enter any establishment as an equal, vote, and be treated equally like everyone else [ CITATION His195 l 1033 ]. This what Martin Luther King Jr meant by “all men are created equal [ CITATION His195 l 1033 ].” Moreover, President Johnson signed the Voters Right Act which “prevented the use of literacy tests as a voting requirement and allowed federal examiners to review voter qualifications and federal observers to monitor polling places [ CITATION His195 l 1033 ].” President Johnson also signed “The Fair Housing Act” during the Civil Rights Movement that provided equal housing opportunities [ CITATION His195 l 1033 ]. Additionally, the “Brown vs. Board of Education” was a major civil rights movement that separate schools for whites and black was unlawful (Openstax, 2019). Furthermore, the Civil Rights Movement allowed minorities to be heard, respected, and the right to be treated equally. It was the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that motivated the Civil Rights Activists. This is an act that outlawed discrimination that was based on race, color, religion, sex, or the nation of origin. This Act ended the application of voter registration requirements and ended segregation in schools. This was aimed at bringing equality to African Americans and offered protection of the minority groups in United States [ CITATION His196 l 1033 ]. “The Civil Rights Act was later expanded to bring disabled Americans, the elderly and women in collegiate athletics under its umbrella [ CITATION His196 l 1033 ].” Thus, the Civil Rights Movement made America a welcoming country for the minorities in terms of race, religion, culture, color etc. Moreover, I believe the tactics and strategies that the Civil Rights Activists used against ethnic and racial conflict in the 1960s were successful and still would apply to today’s ethnic and racial conflicts. One of the tactics used was non-violence. According to Simkins (2014), “a major factor in the success of the movement was the strategy of protesting for equal rights without using violence.” Non-violence made it easier to get their point across. Likewise, peaceful picketing would also be successful. Hence, the better approach to civil rights is “a peaceful, gradual one that focuses on passing laws and winning cases in court [ CITATION Chr14 l 1033 ].” I think this will be a better solution, as this approach, although it might be time consuming, it involves non-violence. Unfortunately, the ideas of the 1960s are still relevant today. Minority groups are still struggling with civil rights issues and ongoing concerns. For instance, police brutality against the black community. According to Lopez (2018), “black people accounted for 31 percent of police killing victims in 2012, even though they made up just 13 percent of the US population.” This article also mentions that “black people are much more likely to be shot by police than their white peers [ CITATION Ger18 l 1033 ].” Also, educational disparities still exist for African Americans and disabled students. For instance, “black K-12 students are 3.8 times as likely to receive one or more out-of-school suspensions as compared to White students in the same grade [ CITATION Dav16 l 1033 ].” Sadly, this also applies to students with disability. Of course, America has made progress compared to the 1960s, however, it still has its flaws that needs to be worked on. Still, the Civil Rights Movement has an impact on diversity today. There are a few civil rights issues that are ongoing right now. For example, slavery was eliminated in the United States in 1865. However, human trafficking is an ongoing problem in the Unites States [ CITATION Ali16 l 1033 ]. “In North America alone, 1.5 million people are currently victims of human trafficking [ CITATION Ali16 l 1033 ].” People are being trafficked and forced to work in restaurant businesses or as "domestics" for very little money and long labor hours[ CITATION Ali16 l 1033 ]. Also, disabled individuals are still employed at lower rate even though the “Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA)” was passed. This act "protects people with mental or physical impairment [ CITATION Ali16 l 1033 ]." A study shows that "79 percent of disabled people were unemployed, with 73 percent of the opinion that their disability was the cause [ CITATION Ali16 l 1033 ]." Lastly, pregnancy discrimination is an issue that women are experiencing today. Although the Pregnancy Discrimination Act was passed, employed women are "forced into unpaid leave without medical insurance [ CITATION Ali16 l 1033 ]." Thus, the Civil Rights Movements has an impact to todays' diversity. Altogether, Martin Luther King Jr. influence was to make everyone equal, regardless of race, ethnic group, religion, etc. He is responsible for the rights we have at this moment, and without his vision or speech, “we would be in a segregated, low tech, country fighting civil war after civil war, blacks against whites [ CITATION Bri192 l 1033 ].” The Civil Rights Movement aimed for equality in every individual. Although, the civil rights movements has flaws, it definitely has progressed and shaped America to what it is today.